The present invention relates to a method and system for selling products.
Traditional retail automobile marketing involves placing large advertisements in the local newspapers. The advertisements typically show images of many of the vehicles available from the particular seller sponsoring the advertising. A price and a listing of standard and optional equipment is commonly displayed with the image of the vehicle. Readers of the newspaper, particularly those considering purchasing a vehicle, are drawn to advertisements in which a large selection of vehicles is presented in an appealing manner. Advertisements including an illustration representing an actual vehicle, typically together with its vehicle identification number (VIN), assist readers in selecting appropriate vehicles and in communicating their desires to a seller. If the reader finds a vehicle of interest, the reader is likely to visit the dealership sponsoring the advertisement to inspect the vehicle or otherwise contact the dealership for additional information concerning the vehicle. When the reader contacts the dealership, a salesperson has an opportunity to sell the advertised vehicle or another vehicle to the potential purchaser. Advertising is used this manner to generate interest in the products offered by the seller sponsoring the advertising and to facilitate contact between potential customers and the seller's sales personnel.
In addition to newspaper advertising, automotive dealerships commonly operate Internet based websites. These Internet websites commonly enable a potential customer to search the dealership's inventory for a particular type of vehicle, model and year of manufacture. After locating and selecting a vehicle from a written description of the inventory on the dealer's storage lot, the customer can, commonly, cause the website to display one or more pictures the specific vehicle, or an exemplary vehicle of the same model, and a description of the standard and optional equipment included on the vehicle. After viewing a website listing vehicles in the dealer's inventory, the potential customer can often purchase the vehicle through the website or otherwise make contact with the dealer's sales staff. When the potential customer contacts the dealership, a salesperson has the opportunity to sell the advertised vehicle or sell another vehicle to the potential purchaser. Internet websites are used in a manner similar to print advertising to generate interest in the products offered by the seller sponsoring the website and to facilitate contact between the seller's sales staff and potential purchasers.
Websites displaying a seller's inventory can be very useful to the potential consumer and to the seller. If a potential purchaser has identified a product of interest, he/she can determine if a product having the desired specifications and equipment is available locally. On the other hand, a seller, having a product in inventory matching the desired product or having many of the attributes desired by the potential purchaser, may be able to identify persons interested in purchasing and have an opportunity to sell this product or another product if the potential purchaser is drawn to visit the seller's business by the knowledge that a product closely matching the purchaser's desired product is available. However, a potential purchaser who has not identified a specific product of interest typically must explore a number of websites to review products and features available from competing manufacturers and, after identifying a particular product of interest, contact one or more websites operated by local dealers to search the dealers' inventories for a product having at least some of the desired specifications. What is desired, therefore, is an Internet based website to aid potential purchasers in identifying a product(s) of interest and aid sellers of products in identifying persons interested in purchasing the type of products offered by the seller.
The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.